The Gordon Research Conference on The Chemistry, Physiology and Structure of Bones and Teeth is now in its thirty ninth year, has been and still is a primary driving force in accelerating research progress in skeletal/dental tissue biology and has, in the past few years, acquired a new vigour with the increasing interest in the treatment and the underlying causes of metabolic bone diseases. This meeting brings together many of the world's leading investigators as well as many of the bright young scholars who are active in skeletal research. It is unique by its limited size, the large amount of time for free discussion, and the geographical isolation, allowing a maximal extent of interactions. In short, the Gordon Conference on Bones and Teeth is known and recognized to be among the most influential research conferences in the field. This meeting is remarkably cost-effective, which is in part due to the unique administrative support provided by the Gordon Research Conference Organization and the modest, but unique facilities in which the conference is held. The purpose of this proposal is to request funds to partially defray costs of speakers' transportation and subsistence. These funds, if granted, will result in major benefits to those engaged in investigating bone and tooth physiology. It will stimulate further creativity in bone and tooth research in the coming years as it has in the past. The 1993 Conference will focus attention on each of the following areas of skeletal research: Molecular biology of bone development and osteoblast differentiation. Ultrastructural and molecular aspects of bone matrix mineralization. Proto-oncogenes, osteoclasts and osteoporosis. Molecular and cell biology of head and tooth development. Functional domains of the receptors for Parathyroid hormone and Calcitonin. Families of G-proteins and their roles in signal transduction. Cytokines and Cytokine inhibitors: Role in bone remodelling and inflammatory processes. Postmenopausal osteoporosis: the cell biology of drug treatment as deduced from histomorphometry.